One of San Diego’s best tennis players is a 22-year-old from Pacific Beach named Zach Svajda. He won his third match at U.S. Open qualifying on Friday and is in position to make his first run in a major tournament main draw.

Svajda plays Hungary’s Zsombor Piros on Saturday in a match that suddenly has the attention of the tennis-watching world. Svajda, who was coached by his father Tom at Pacific Beach Tennis Club, has reached No. 102 in the world and is working his way up in the rankings.

Svajda made the second round of the U.S. Open in 2021 and also won three Challenger titles and an ATP Tour title while breaking the top 150.

He also won the Boys USTA National Championships in 2019 and 2021 and has three Challenger titles on his resume.

Tom Svajda is battling cancer, and that situati

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